1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotor for a reluctance motor and a reluctance motor equipped with the rotor.
2. Background Information
It has been proposed to use reluctance motors as drive sources for vehicles because the reluctance motors have a simple structure that does not require the use of permanent magnets and the reluctance motors are capable of rotating at high speeds. However, it is known that when a reluctance motor is operated at a high rotational speed or with a large torque output, the amount of torque ripple is large and the actual amount of torque obtained is smaller than a target amount of torque. Consequently, when a reluctance motor is operated at a high rotational speed or with a large torque output, it is necessary to increase or decrease the current of each phase at a high speed. However, since the speed at which the current is increased or decreased depends on the power source voltage of the device used to drive the reluctance motor, it is not possible to increase the speed at which the current is increased and decreased.
Thus, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-178092 discloses a conventional reluctance motor that can alleviate the problem of low torque output. More specifically, the conventional reluctance motor disclosed in this publication is configured to perform a so-called electrical angle advancing control in which electrical energizing of the coil is started at an electrical angle that is earlier (advanced) than a prescribed energizing timing in order to compensate for a wider interval during which the current increases or decreases.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved reluctance motor rotor. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.